Australian coal exports from Newcastle port disrupted by storm damage

Australian coal exports from Newcastle port disrupted by storm damage

	Published : Tue, 12 Jun 2007 05:33 By : Agencies Print this Story

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Coal exports from the port of Newcastle on Australia's east coast have been disrupted by damage caused by severe storms last week, including disruptions to the rail connection with the Hunter Valley coal mining district, port services operators and miners said said.

Port Waratah Coal Services, which runs coal loading operations, said trains from mines in the Hunter Valley have not been able to make deliveries due to track damage. The earliest estimate for resumed rail operations is Friday.

A spokeswoman for mining group BHP Billiton said the company has declared force majeure on thermal coal shipments shipped out of Newcastle from the Hunter Valley.

'We have declared force majeure as a result of the weather,' she said.

She gave no details on the possible impact on production but added the group is hoping to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.

BHP Billiton operates the Mount Arthur mine in the Hunter Valley which produces 10 mln metric tons of thermal coal a year for export to Asian electricity generators.

Rio Tinto's 75 pct owned Coal & Allied Industries Ltd said at this stage it is unable to assess the impact of the storm and subsequent damage on the three mines it operates in the Hunter Valley.

'As is the case after any significant rainfall, water is being pumped from the mines to existing large water storage dams on Coal & Allied property,' a spokesperson said.

Coal & Allied operates three mines in the Hunter Valley - Mount Thorley/Warkworth, Bengalla and Hunter Valley Operations - which last year produced a combined 25 mln tons of mainly thermal coal for export to Asia.

Last month Coal & Allied announced it was cutting coal production at the three mines by 20 pct this year due to congestion at Newcastle.

The other major coal producer in the Hunter Valley, London-listed Xstrata Plc unit Xstrata Coal, was not available for comment.

Its Hunter Valley mines produce about 10 mln tons of coal a year.

On Friday, the 225-meter long bulk coal carrier Pasha Bulker was washed onto a sandbank at Newcastle after it was ripped from its moorings by heavy seas.

It had been waiting to load 58,000 tons of Coal & Allied coal for delivery to Japanese power utilities.

A salvage crew is hoping to refloat the vessel but it is still not clear whether a salvage operation will be successful.

bruce.hextall@xfn.com